My Basement Renovation » middle atlantic SRS4

Closing in the Rack Closet

admin — Wed, 20 May 2009 13:36:56 +0000

I had to cut about six inches off the bottom of the door to get it to fit under the support beam. I had only 67 inches of clearance and the rough opening called for 82. It was actually pretty easy with a jig saw.

A/V Rack Closet

I’m not sure how, but I screwed up my rack space counting when ording the final parts. I guess I thought I had one more space avaialble than I did when I ordered a 1u filler and a 3u filler from Middle Atlantic. The plan was to leacve 2u for a shelf….ended up with 1u. Maybe I meant to order a 1u and a 2u…I’ll be placing yet another order…

Middle Atlantic Rack

Middle Atlantic Rack Installation

admin — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 22:34:04 +0000

I thought the installation of the Middle Atlantic SRS4 sliding rack would go smoothly since I spent plenty of time measuring the opening before and after framing. I instructed the drywall guys not to drywall the inside of the opening. They followed those instructions, only using the corner bead and mud.

Turns out that I was a bit too presice with my framing. I left no room for error or anything else for that matter (such as mud and corner bead!). Middle Atlantic installation instructions call for a 19 1/4″ rough opening. I did just that. The sides came in a 1/4 inch short with the bead and mud taking up an 1/8 on either side. The bottom drywall cut slightly altered the wood platform, causing it to be a hair off level, wich really shows by the time you get to the top of the rack rails.

Middle Atlantic Rack Installation Problem

corner bead & mud = 1/8" on each side

The corner bead and mud at the top, along with the drywall cut under the wood at the bottom caused a 1/4 gap at the top and the side so the sliding rack would not slide!

Middle Atlantic Rack Installation Problem Solved!

I ripped out the corner bead on the sides and shaved down the rough drywall cut under the wooden platform. The SRS4-20 then slid in place perfectly. The shot above shows the squaring plate and a 2 space brushed metal drawer which I’ll use to store remotes.

Next I started to build some of the custom RSH shelves. I ordered the shelf and custom faceplate kit for the Onkyo 806 receiver and APC H15 power conditioner. For the Wii & Sony BDS350 blue ray player I ordered the RSH custom faceplates only and found a deal on eBay for 2U shelves.

Lesson learned: RSH custom faceplates will not attach to middle atlantic universal shelves. You need to order the custom sub-chasis shelves in the size corresponding to the custom faceplate. That being discovered, I was only able to get two shelves together and mounted on the first try.

Custom RSH rack shelving for Onkyo TXSR-806

Middle Atlantic SRS4 Rack

The rough edges left behide from where I pulled out the corner bead will be hidden by the hardwood frame around the opening.

Framing in the AV Rack Wall

admin — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 17:51:52 +0000

Where there was just an open space into a storage area will be a custom framed Middle Atlantic rack. I ordered the sliding rack system, 20u, with RSH Custom Faceplates for a clean look.

middle atlantic rack framing

The doorway into the storage area will be to the right of the rack. A PC and networking gear will be in the lower section of the rack. Even though I’ll have walk in access to the back of the equiptment rack, it will be tight with all the crap stored in this basement. I bought the Middle Atlantic SRS4 20 which is a 4 rail 19″ rack with a weight capacity of 250 pounds. It slides out 19″ which will give me plenty of room for AV work.

Middle Atlantic Rack Framing - Side

Middle Atlantic Rack Framing Close Up

I’m using 2×10 pine leftover from some other work for the base. The inside will be painted flat black and the openings will be trimmed out in a dark reddish stained poplar.

Middle Atlantic SRS4 in Framing

Here it is with the bare SRS4 in place. I’m waited to do the top frame peice until after it was placed in there to be sure everything was tight.

Middle Atlantic SRS4 in framing